āAct like youāve been there beforeā is a clichĆ© Iāve heard that means to behave in a situation that is new and exciting to you as if it is something old and familiar to you instead.
As a closeted transfeminine person, Iām thinking about painting my fingernails black - wearing coloured polish in public would be a first for me. And Iām thinking of getting them done at a salon - another first.
Iām so nervous but excited. I know from experience of rocking neutral or clear polish as a cis-looking AMAB person that being super nonchalant about having painted nails in public will lead to me having a better time, which is ironic because rocking painted fingernails in public is like bucket list-level excitement for me. But to assuage my high levels of social anxiety and increase my odds of having a good time, I know I ought to be nonchalant or āact like Iāve been there before.ā Itās kind of humorous to me, even though I obviously donāt think there should be any stigma at all.
The more I dwell on this, the more I realize itās important to me and I should do it. Gotta gather my courage tho! š
Thanks for sharing! And that is top-tier pub banter! :P
I should follow your example and keep responses simple - I donāt need/want to blab. Maybe just āyupā and a smile, like āIām doing me, and I hope youāre doing you!ā
Thank you for the encouragement! I hope to be back to provide an update :)
Yeah, not talking too much is often a good plan if you want to keep things simple :)
Plus, stuff like nail art of course isnāt exclusively feminine. If I go out with (very) light makeup, in womenās jeans and painted nails, internally Iāll be overflowing with girl stuff euphoria, but to everyone else Iām just some dude. Since my body shape, face and hair arenāt remotely feminine (yet!), thereās not really much to code āwomanā. I think Iād have to wear a dress and full-on eyeliner for anyone to notice.
Good advice. And maybe I overestimate how many people do/will notice. I guess I do tend to focus on the majority who do notice and not appreciate the majority who donāt or are chill.
Iām glad to hear of your times overflowing with girl stuff euphoria. And that āyetā sounds exciting āŗļø
